This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. As with past years, Warner Bros had some original production costumes on display from current television series. They had three this time around: Supergirl, Arrow, and The Flash. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. As with past years, Prop Store had an impressive display of original props and costumes from film and television on display throughout Comic Con. This year, they also used the occasion to announce three live auctions, their Entertainment Memorabilia Auction in London the Fall, The Twilight Saga Live Auction in Los Angeles on November 19th and 20th, and their Phil Tippett Auction in Los Angeles on October 3rd. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. This year, auction house Profiles in History had an all-artwork exhibit, with pieces from their upcoming Frank Darabont Collection on display, including Frank Frazetta works among the highlights. Profiles has marketed “Sea Witch” as “The Only Million Dollar Art Piece at Comic-Con” and “The Single Most Important and Most Valuable Frazetta Painting to EVER be Offered At Auction (pre-sale estimate of $1,000,000 – $1,500,000)”, so it will be interesting to see if it meets the reserve at the July 30th auction. I have been reporting on Profiles in History as registered press at Comic Con International every year for the past nine years (see articles from 2008, 2009 Part 1 & 2009 Part 2, 2010 Part 1 & 2010 Part 2, 2011, 2012, 2013 Part 1 & 2013 Part 2, 2014, 2015), but this is the first in which they did not exhibit any TV and/or movie props and costumes. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. This marked the third year in a row (see 2014, 2015) that HBO hosted a Game of Thrones interactive exhibit at the L Street Fine Art Gallery opposite the Omni Hotel. The Hall of Faces experience proved as popular as ever, with fans lined up one to two blocks. However, this year had far less on display in terms of original props and costumes, with just one piece of wardrobe each for Jaqen H’ghar, Arya and the Waif from Season 6. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. Across from the main activities at the convention center was “Amazon Village”, which included an experience for their original episodic series, The Man in the High Castle, which is based on Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel of the same name, which features an alternative history n which the Axis powers won World War II. The experience also featured original props, costumes, and set pieces from the series. The second season is expected late this year, though specifics have not been announced. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. Weta Workshop had a few original production costume pieces on display this year, including King Llane Wrynn from World of Warcraft and an android from next year’s live action adaptation of Ghost in the Machine starring Scarlett Johansson. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. My personal friend Dan Lanigan made a splash this year with his first appearance as an exhibitor as Cinema Relics and their Fan-O-Rama, A Futurama Fan Film. In addition to playing the trailer for the upcoming fan film short, they played video of interviews, behind-the-scenes, and ‘making of’ footage. A big attraction for their booth in the main exhibit hall at Comic Con was their display of props, costumes, prosthetics, and miniatures. [Read more…]
This is part of my ongoing coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2016. In my 2015 feature on Marvel Entertainment, I opened by noting that “they elected to not have much of a presence or major announcements at Comic Con this time around” and compared their display of one Ant-Man costume to that of historic competitor DC Comics and their more impressive display of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman costumes as well as television costumes, all in stand alone displays that allow fans to get up close to check them out. The divide between the lackluster and the impressive was widened further this year, as Disney-owned Marvel seems to have lost any sense of self awareness and their 2016 Comic Con presentation felt like it was invented by a hype machine-driven PR company. Trying to get a glimpse of what was going on with Marvel this year had all the charm of a clumsy Target clerk trying to pressure you into signing up for one of their Target-branded credit cards (“make mine Marvel” is becoming “make mine MasterCard”). They did put a few things from upcoming movies on display on their stage, but with overflowing crowds they would take it away and hide it before you could even snap a poor photo by trying to hold your camera over the heads of the crowd. I guess the upside is, I can’t imagine a worse showing next year, so it leaves tons of room for improvement. But 2016 seemed crafted for generating hype among those who weren’t there rather than those who were, as reading Twitter paints an entirely different picture (see #MarvelSDCC). [Read more…]